The source for radar echo's/returns are from NOAA and the National Weather Service. The map under normal weather conditions display's current temperatures for selected stations. On occasion during rainfall events the map will display running total's of precipitation. Rainfall amounts are reset to zero at midnight. The rainfall data and temperatures are taken from near real time data feeds from individual weather stations and are nearly real time when posted.

When temperature's or rainfall amounts are first posted to the map the data is typically about 6 to 10 minutes older than real time. Since the map refreshes about every 10 minutes, the rainfall and temperature data can be up to 10 minutes old when first posted on the map. For the occasional unresponsive weather station the data can be older. When NOT in "Clear Air Mode" and precipitation is present, the map will refreshe much faster, about every 2 minutes.

Time Stamps - Radar time stamps are in "Greenwich Mean Time" (AKA: GMT/UTC/Z). Directly below the time display, which is located in the lower right hand corner on the images, you will find the current "Greenwich Mean Time". Pacific time is 8 hours behind during our "Standard Time" and 7 hours behind during our "Daylight Savings Time".

Display Policy - We always try to turn off all excess clutter during active radar times, except for the city names and temperatures or precipitation amounts. The city names stay so viewers can more easily find their approximate locations. The city names text should be centered right on top of the true location on the map, or at the least very, very close.

When there is no reasonable threat of rainfall/showers we activate the current temperatures or current rainfall amounts, earthquake icons, fire icons, highway numbers, radar site activity status bars and radar site names.

Clear Air Mode - NOAA's U.S. radar stations operate in either 'Clear Air Mode' when there is no precipitation in the area or 'Precipitation Mode' when rain is in the area. Radar is at its most sensitive state of operation when in clear air mode. The antenna rotates at its slowest rate permitting the radar to sample a given volume of the atmosphere longer giving it the ability to detect smaller objects than when in precipitation mode. Much of what you see in clear air mode is airborne dust & particulate matter.

Precipitation Mode - Radar doesn't need to be as sensitive as in clear air mode. This is because rainfall provides plenty of returning signals giving you a much cleaner view of any rainfall in the area without all of the clutter seen in clear air mode.

Storm Tracks - The Storm Track Feature, when in use, allows you to see what direction or track the storm is currently headed to. This feature shows a white line extending out of a little white square box from the center of a storm cell. The "x"'s along this white line indicate every 15 minutes where the center of the storm is forecast to be, based on its current speed and direction. For an example, the 4th "x" shows where the storm will be in an hour given its current tracking. The longer the white line the faster the storm is moving.

Using Zoom - You can easily zoom in by clicking on the "Zoom Button" and then left clicking on the map. With every click the map will zoom in more. Once zoomed in you can then "Click and Drag" the map. The "Click and Drag" is only available when zoomed in. This feature allows you to zoom right into your own neighborhood. To reset the map to the original viewing level, simply click on the "Unzoom Button".

Note - Typically you will see area temperatures or precipitation amounts, fires, current earthquakes, and highway markers when there is no precipitation in the area. When there is rainfall occuring in the area the map is usually cleared to only show the radar, city names and temperatures or precipitation along with rain related icons like hail and cloud rotation on the map IF enabled. This is because we don't want to put up anything extra that will obstruct from the view of the radar during any precipitation event.